The NGO challenges the validity of a provision of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday, 13 March agreed to hear on 15 March a plea of an NGO challenging the exclusion of the Chief Justice of India from a panel meant for selecting the CEC and the election commissioners.
A Bench headed by Justice Sanjiv Khanna took note of the submissions of lawyer Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the NGO, Association for Democratic Reforms, seeking urgent listing of the plea and said it will be listed on Friday.
“I just got the message from the CJI that it will be listed on Friday,” Justice Khanna said.
The NGO challenges the validity of a provision of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023.
Under the new law, the selection panel includes the Prime Minister as the chairperson, the Leader of Opposition, and a Union minister nominated by the Prime Minister are the two members of it.
The NGO has moved the top court after Election Commissioner Arun Goel put in his papers recently.
Opposition demands details of candidates
Meanwhile, ahead of the meeting of the Prime Minister-chaired high-powered panel for selection of Election Commissioners, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has written to the Law Ministry seeking details of short-listed candidates along with their “dossiers”.
In a letter to the Secretary, of the Legislative Department, Rajiv Mani, Chowdhury has asked him to send him details of shortlisted candidates for the post of Election Commissioners along with their bio-data.
The Congress leader, who is part of the panel for selection of ECs, has asked the Law Ministry official to follow the procedure for appointment of other top officials, including CIC and Information Commissioners, besides that adopted for appointing the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC).
Chowdhury is also a member of the Prime Minister-led panels for the selection of CIC and CVC.
“I would request you to make available the ‘dossier’ containing bio-data of shortlisted candidates for the post of Election Commissioners before the meeting,” Chowdhury is learnt to have said in his letter to the Law Ministry.
The meeting of the high-powered panel will be held on 14 March at noon to select two Election Commissioners to fill up vacancies created by the sudden resignation of Arun Goel and the retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey.